At VCU, research begins with boldness, creativity and ambition that is transforming innovation and improving the human condition. And, we are succeeding, changing who is shaping and creating knowledge and ensuring that research serves our collective good by aligning our collective strengths toward with a focus on the four initiatives outlined under the One VCU Research Strategic Priorities Plan:
With internal funding aimed at external impact, it is important to consider how to can empower missing voices, teams and talents to address grand challenges within our diverse community and beyond. VCU connects rural and urban communities, embracing its complex history to foster necessary change.
This year, we are pleased to offer the following funding opportunities:
VCU Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Fund (AHSS): Supporting, facilitating and enhancing the creation, production and dissemination of arts, humanities and social sciences research.
VCU Breakthroughs Fund: Supporting transdisciplinary teams to design unique, creative and innovative large-scale approaches to confront humanity’s grand challenges.
VCU Momentum Fund: Promoting impactful interdisciplinary research by providing multi-principal investigator research teams with support to prepare and submit competitive, external, multi-component large-scale proposals.
VCU Quest Fund: Supporting new, emerging or continuing research in any discipline or area of research focus, particularly work that advances transdisciplinary research, multidisciplinary research, cross-campus collaboration and research with a high potential for translation to practice or market.
VCU Commercialization Fund: Dedicated to the advancement of VCU inventions with a goal of bringing projects to a more mature stage of development and improving their chances of being licensed and brought to market.
Strategic funds details and application instructions
Each of the following One VCU Research Strategic Priorities PlanFY 2025 Request for Applications (RFAs) outline the purpose, proposal requirements, deadlines and application processes. Email ovprifunds@vcu.edu for more information.
VCU Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Fund
Full proposal deadline: December 13, 2024
Award start date and project period: May 16, 2025 (12 months)
Award ceiling: Up to $10,000
Program category: Pilot/small project funds for part of a larger project
Purpose: Through a partnership between the Office of the Provost and the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation, the VCU Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Fund is designed to support, facilitate and enhance the creation, production and dissemination of arts, humanities and social sciences research and creative activity at any stage of development, including initial or mid-stage project development, presentation or performance, and final publication. Apply for VCU AHSS Fund via RAMS-SPOT internal opportunities here.
Eligibility: Principal investigators must be any full-time VCU faculty regardless of rank or tenure status. Both single- and multi-scholar or artist grants are eligible. PIs and co-PIs with active AHSS awards at the time of proposal submission are ineligible to apply as PI or co-PI on an additional AHSS proposal during this funding cycle.
Award start date and project period: July 1, 2025 (18-24 months)
Award ceiling: Up to $200,000
Program category: Large-scale program funding
Purpose:VCU Breakthroughs Fund (Breakthroughs) supports transdisciplinary teams to design unique, creative, and innovative large-scale approaches to confront societal grand challenges in alignment with the One VCU Research Strategic Priorities Plan. Successful projects are designed to reach very specific outcomes or establish the capability to compete for external funding upon award completion. Apply for VCU Breakthroughs Fund via RAMS-SPOT internal opportunities here.
Eligibility: Transdisciplinary research, including multiple principal investigators serving as co-PIs is required. This is defined as research that combines two or more areas of study into a seamless project. Co-PIs may be any full-time, primary appointment VCU faculty, research faculty or clinician researcher regardless of rank or tenure status. Clinician researchers must have a university faculty appointment to serve as a co-PI. Staff without affiliate faculty college/school appointments are not eligible to serve as a co-PI. Inclusive research teams encompassing meaningful participation of all members are strongly encouraged, including URM and/or minoritized faculty, early-stage investigators, trainees, and students. Projects must demonstrate alignment with a strategic priorities plan initiative, along with specific goal(s) and objective(s).
Award start date and project period: July 1, 2025 (18 months)
Award ceiling: Up to $50,000, inclusive of 25% unit cost share (required)
Program category: Pilot/small project, funds for part of a larger project
Purpose: The goal of the VCU Quest Fund (formerly the VCU Presidential Research Quest Fund) is to afford all faculty an internal funding opportunity to support new, emerging or continuing research. Research proposals that advance any discipline and area of research focus are appropriate for consideration. Requests for grant support may be based on a broad array of needs, from restarting an inactive research program to pilot studies that would produce preliminary results on which external grant applications could be based. Proposed work that helps advance transdisciplinary research, multidisciplinary research and cross-campus collaboration, as well as research that has the potential for translation to practice or market, is especially encouraged. Apply for VCU Quest Fund via RAMS-SPOT internal opportunities here.
Eligibility: The VCU Quest fund encourages trans- and multidisciplinary project proposals, as well as single-investigator projects. PIs may be any full-time, primary appointment VCU faculty, research faculty or clinician researcher regardless of rank or tenure status. Clinician researchers must have a university faculty appointment to serve as a co-PI. Staff without affiliate faculty college/school appointments are not eligible to serve as a PI. Inclusive research teams encompassing meaningful participation of all members are strongly encouraged, including URM and/or minoritized faculty, early-stage investigators, trainees and students. Faculty who have received a grant from the Quest fund or its predecessors as either PI or Co-PI are ineligible to serve as PI or Co-PI on future submissions to the fund until three years have elapsed since the end date of their most recent award.
Questions: For specific questions about proposal budgets, cost-share commitments, school/college level review and endorsement signatures, contact your associate dean for research. All other questions may be directed to ovprifunds@vcu.edu.
VCU Momentum Fund
Full proposal deadline: January 31, 2025
Award start date and project period: July 1, 2025 (18-24 months)
Award ceiling: Up to $225,000, no unit cost share
Program category: Large-scale center and initiative planning
Purpose: The VCU Momentum Fundpromotes impactful interdisciplinary research by providing multi-principal investigator research teams with support to prepare and submit competitive, external, multi-component large-scale proposals. Examples include, but are not limited to, large funding opportunities from federal agencies (e.g., National Institutes of Health P- or U-series mechanisms, National Science Foundation Gen4 Engineering Research Centers, NSF Science and Technology Centers, Department of Energy’s Energy Frontier Research Centers) or foundations (e.g., Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and MacArthur Foundation). Apply for VCU Momentum Fund via RAMS-SPOT internal opportunities here.
Eligibility: Transdisciplinary research, including multiple principal investigators serving as co-PIs is required. This is defined as research that combines two or more areas of study into a seamless project. Co-PIs may be any full-time, primary appointment VCU faculty, research faculty or clinician researcher regardless of rank or tenure status. Clinician researchers must have a university faculty appointment to serve as a co-PI. Staff without affiliate faculty college/school appointments are not eligible to serve as a co-PI. Inclusive research teams encompassing meaningful participation of all members are strongly encouraged, including URM and/or minoritized faculty, early-stage investigators, trainees, and students. Projects must demonstrate alignment with a strategic priorities plan initiative, along with specific goal(s) and objective(s).
At VCU, research begins with boldness, creativity and ambition that is transforming innovation and improving the human condition. And, we are succeeding, changing who is shaping and creating knowledge and ensuring that research serves our collective good by aligning our collective strengths toward with a focus on the four initiatives outlined under the One VCU Research Strategic Priorities Plan: